Evening wedding invitation wording, with examples

Inviting some guests to the whole day and others to the evening reception is one of the most British things about a British wedding. It lets you celebrate with far more people than your venue or budget could seat for dinner. The only tricky part is the wording: it needs to be just as warm as the day invitation, and perfectly clear about when to arrive.

What an evening invitation needs to say

• That it's an invitation to the evening celebration, in so many words.
• The time to arrive. Give a time rather than "after the meal", which means nothing to someone who wasn't there.
• The venue's name and full address, even if it's the same as the ceremony.
• What's on: food, a band or DJ, the first dance, fireworks.
• When the evening ends, and anything about transport home.
• How and when to reply.

Formal wording

Mr and Mrs David Harris request the pleasure of your company at an evening reception to celebrate the marriage of their daughter Emily to Mr Jack Thompson, on Saturday 12th June 2027 from 7.30pm, at Oakly Park, Ludlow.

When you're hosting yourselves

Emily Harris and Jack Thompson would love you to join them for an evening of celebration after their wedding, on Saturday 12th June 2027 from 7.30pm, at Oakly Park, Ludlow.

Relaxed wording

• We're married! Come and dance the night away with us from 7.30pm at Oakly Park.
• Join us for drinks, dancing and a late-night bacon roll as we celebrate becoming Mr and Mrs Thompson.
• The vows will be said and the speeches over, so all that's left is the party. We'd love you there.

Getting the timing right

Choose an arrival time when your day guests have finished eating and the room is ready, usually half an hour to an hour after the wedding breakfast ends. Arriving to a room still clearing plates is uncomfortable for everyone. If the first dance or cutting the cake is a moment you'd like evening guests to see, put its time on the invitation.

Avoiding awkwardness

Most guests understand the difference between day and evening invitations, but a few touches help:

• Give evening guests the same quality of invitation as day guests. A smaller or plainer card can feel like an afterthought.
• Don't include details that only apply to the day, such as the ceremony time or the meal choices.
• Send day and evening invitations at the same time, so nobody feels added later.
• Be clear about children and plus-ones on the evening invitation too.

How a digital invitation makes this easier

With paper, couples print two different invitations and two sets of inserts. Online, you can send one beautifully designed invitation and let it show each guest only what applies to them. On Evermore's Premium plan, you place guests in categories such as "Day" and "Evening", and choose which sections each category sees. Evening guests see the evening timings, the venue and the RSVP. Day guests see everything, including the ceremony and the meal.

Every reply, day or evening, goes into the same guest list, so there's no second spreadsheet to keep in step.

A final check

Before you send, read the evening invitation as if you were a guest who knows nothing about the day. Do you know exactly where to go, when to arrive and what to expect? If so, it's ready.